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Rear end damage

F=MA

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California lawmakers believe this bolt will cause cancer and reproductive issues in addition to rear end damage :ROFLMAO:. You can't make this stuff up !!
 

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Good ‘ole Prop 65! I actually had a customer ask me a thousand questions as to why this label was in our Install and Op Manual. I told him it’s on everything from TVs to applesauce. California……
 

FORZDA3

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Good ‘ole Prop 65!…. I told him it’s on everything from TVs to applesauce. California……
Yep, it’s the land of fruits and nuts for sure! It’s caused by the CA State Govt and libtards, NOT the random people living their lives in peace. That’s why so many people are leaving the state.
 

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Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, USA
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2020 Explorer ST
Yep, it’s the land of fruits and nuts for sure! It’s caused by the CA State Govt and libtards, NOT the random people living their lives in peace. That’s why so many people are leaving the state.
Ugh, tell me about it. Thankfully, where I live in Rancho Santa Margarita (southern Orange County) is pretty red. Plenty of Trump/FJB/Let's Go Brandon signs and flags out. I hope eventually this will make it's way to Sacramento. Wishful thinking...
 

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My 2021 Platinum, build date Sept 7, 2021, has the same "1 bolt wonder" configuration.
The Platinum engine is not an ST however perhaps towing a travel trailer with mine will create stresses to cause a similar bolt failure.
Should I be concerned when towing my camper?.
Both have the same exact engine, different tune.
 

TMac

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My 2021 Platinum, build date Sept 7, 2021, has the same "1 bolt wonder" configuration.
The Platinum engine is not an ST however perhaps towing a travel trailer with mine will create stresses to cause a similar bolt failure.
Should I be concerned when towing my camper?.
I wouldn't be concerned about towing with a stock ST or Platinum with the single bolt rear subframe. The examples of breakage on this site were tuned, and I'm pretty sure were doing hard launches. However, if you are adding an extra 100 hp and planning on launching hard, then you should be concerned.
 

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Ashburn, VA
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2020 Explorer ST
I think one person on this thread said they were backing down a boat ramp and the reverse braking ass. suddenly activated and end of story for that one...
 

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I wouldn't be concerned about towing with a stock ST or Platinum with the single bolt rear subframe. The examples of breakage on this site were tuned, and I'm pretty sure were doing hard launches. However, if you are adding an extra 100 hp and planning on launching hard, then you should be concerned.
One wasn't while towing a boat and I believe there was another in an FB group that was stock as well
 

TMac

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I'm sympathetic in the case of anyone who has a failure of a component on a new vehicle. I'm also certain that during the pandemic some shortcuts might have been taken, but I'm a little concerned that we; as a community should start supporting class action lawsuits and provoking fear about towing based on a couple of anecdotal accounts. How is that helpful? Let's be honest, if I tune my vehicle and blow up the rear end- am I going to go online and document it? For me the jury is still out- as soon as there are a hundred of these problems then I'm all in (as will the NTSB) on Ford fixing the problem.
 

Cdubya

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The Jury is not out. The verdict is in. Ford engineers put the 1 bolt on all 2.3L Explorers and the 2 bolt in 3.0L Explorers and Aviators in MY2020, and at least early MY2021. I'm sure there is good reason for that. Supporting that, the OP got a two bolt subframe as the repair for his MY2021.

The jury may be out on why later build 2021 3.0L have the 1 bolt, but that is not the way they were originally engineered. If I got the one bolt, I'd be pissed. Would it change how I drove it? Not while under warranty. I'd drive the snot out of it (untuned) and see if the rear setup could handle it. If they start getting a bunch of these failures, they may indeed be checking for aftermarket tunes, if only to limit the liability.
 

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The window is too narrow and they are claiming that it's only 20 vehicles affected. It could be a start though.
 

Dale5403

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The window is too narrow and they are claiming that it's only 20 vehicles affected. It could be a start though.
I'm guessing not. The article said it only applies to 20 vehicles. But I could be wrong.
Might just be some damage control by Ford to show small numbers. Seems silly to issue a recall for only “20” vehicles when they could reach out quietly to those owners. Then again, this might be the only proper way to go about it. In any case, hopefully it is a good start for sure.
 

Cdubya

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I would doubt that only 20 vehicles are affected. They list a full build week in August for the Explorer and 3 days for the Aviator. That's a good number of cars. Nice that with today's parts tracking that they know exactly which cars are affected though.
 

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Kansas
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2022 Rapid Red ST

Nine29

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Law Enforcement
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Motown, MI
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2021 ST
Just another data point...my 2021 ST with a build date of 11/2020 came with 2 bolts (4 total).
 

Lenny H

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8/21 Build 1 or 3 bolts..... Depends what you are looking at, either way it is missing one.
 

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